[bfreedma]

« The Dolby Atmos certification for A16 was granted at last. The A16 now has it’s reason to exist (because till now, it was only a Realiser A8... with 16 channels). Next step, the DTS:X and Auro3D certification »

Gilles actually sent an email to a member of the French forum who ordered the A16 through him.
He says that he is going to contact Smyth Research to retrieve the A16. He cannot give a schedule for shipping yet because actually, they didn’t get the boxes for the A16 yet (!!!)
But it still will be shipped this summer...

just wanted to toss this out here.... where exactly did anyone get the idea that the Smyths are awaiting boxes.... and how did that subject get so ingrained here ... crazy....
also wanted to mention that the Realiser (A8/A16) is a professional piece of equipment that might end up being cheap at its price point if it was used for production of music/movies in that industry ...

 

[Got the Shakes]

Even though i am not chocked by the new price because it's a niche market high-tech device, i would never spend that much for the A16. I backed it up on KS and it cost me all in all 1,150€ when the estimated price was then around 2,000€ (and now it reached 4,290€ !), so i did not hesitate and seize the opportunity, especially since when i found out about the KS campaign, there was only 4 units left at this price...

I not shocked by the new price either, and I’m glad I got in at the preorder price of $1,700. This has been my most anticipated piece of audio gear I’ve ever spent money in and one of my most anticipated piece of tech in general. I don’t think there’s anyway I could justify $4,000 though. I had to think long and hard at the $1,700 price point, don’t think I could have talked myself into $4,000.

 

[VandyMan]

There seems to be a significant market, based on posts here, for things like 10K+ DACs, so 4K for a processor does not seem out of line to me. I think they should come out with a stripped down version for a much lower price, but I bet they sell plenty at 4K.

 

[SergioPOE]

There seems to be a significant market, based on posts here, for things like 10K+ DACs, so 4K for a processor does not seem out of line to me. I think they should come out with a stripped down version for a much lower price, but I bet they sell plenty at 4K.

My thoughts exactly. Even without getting into the snake oil of $10K cables, there's a lot of questionable audio gear out there in terms of performance per dollar/euro/pound that a lot of us don't seem to mind buying.
There's no doubt in my mind that if you have access to a decent setup where you can get a HRTF (or if it's reasonably easy and accurate to do with one speaker), this is a must buy for those of us who can't have a killer audio system for whatever reason. I think the reason it seems expensive is because we're comparing it to the KS price, but again, how much would just one decent pair of speakers set you back, never mind the 16 this thing can replicate?

 

[OdysseusG]

I mean, another way to frame the bang for the buck is this: If the A16 were to start shipping now, at $4k, it would be the cheapest 16 channel processor on the market. The next cheapest option is a bug ridden mess that was pushed out the door half baked-a fate which could still also befall the A16 if we're unlucky, but never mind that. At the preorder price I'm still pumped about it even if I only ever use it to reproduce stereo systems.
A question for you guys- did they ever confirm which model you wanted/ordered? I think I requested a black headstand unit, before they narrowed production down to silver headstands and black rackmounts. I'm still not sure which I'd prefer, so I guess I'd be fine either way.

 

[m8o]

I cannot believe that shipping has not started !!! !@#$%

 

[Got the Shakes]

I mean, another way to frame the bang for the buck is this: If the A16 were to start shipping now, at $4k, it would be the cheapest 16 channel processor on the market. The next cheapest option is a bug ridden mess that was pushed out the door half baked-a fate which could still also befall the A16 if we're unlucky, but never mind that. At the preorder price I'm still pumped about it even if I only ever use it to reproduce stereo systems.
A question for you guys- did they ever confirm which model you wanted/ordered? I think I requested a black headstand unit, before they narrowed production down to silver headstands and black rackmounts. I'm still not sure which I'd prefer, so I guess I'd be fine either way.

Only confirmation I’ve ever gotten was when they sent a PayPal request for the remaining balance to be paid in June 2017 there is a note in there that I selected the 2U (rack mount) version.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Only confirmation I’ve ever gotten was when they sent a PayPal request for the remaining balance to be paid in June 2017 there is a note in there that I deducted the 2U (rack mount) version.

In all of this, (that demand that the Kickstarter backers send the remaining balance when they damned well KNEW they were nowhere near a release date) seems to me to be the most unethical. So unethical it borders on fraudulent, with the "border" part something to omit in the event this somehow never gets delivered b/c they're following the Ossic model.

 

[Got the Shakes]

In all of this, (that demand that the Kickstarter backers send the remaining balance when they damned well KNEW they were nowhere near a release date) seems to me to be the most unethical. So unethical it borders on fraudulent, with the "border" part something to omit in the event this somehow never gets delivered b/c they're following the Ossic model.

I’ve been through enough crowdfunding ventures that I never expected it to ship when originally estimated, but I’ve also never been a part of one that so badly missed their expected ship date.

Ultimately I decided that it was worth the risk, but what worried me the most was knowing that PayPal only provided 6 months of buyer protection. Basically as of December 2017 I had no recourse if the project went belly up. Maybe I’m naive and overly optimistic at this point, but I do actually think we’ll end up having our units in the next few months (having said that I also wouldn’t be totally shocked if the thing never ships and is total vaporware).

 

[jdev]

What was up with the Dolby certification anyway? Dolby will certify anything--like soundbars with only 2 woofers. My PHONE is "Dolby Atmos" certified. Dolby will certify a potato but not the A16 for years??

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I’ve been through enough crowdfunding ventures that I never expected it to ship when originally estimated, but I’ve also never been a part of one that so badly missed their expected ship date.

Ultimately I decided that it was worth the risk, but what worried me the most was knowing that PayPal only provided 6 months of buyer protection. Basically as of December 2017 I had no recourse if the project went belly up. Maybe I’m naive and overly optimistic at this point, but I do actually think we’ll end up having our units in the next few months (having said that I also wouldn’t be totally shocked if the thing never ships and is total vaporware).

They're damned lucky a whole bunch of the initial investors didn't demand refunds in Nov 2017 when no A16 was forthcoming and ringing PayPal's door to make certain it happened.

 

[Richter Di]

I’ve been through enough crowdfunding ventures that I never expected it to ship when originally estimated, but I’ve also never been a part of one that so badly missed their expected ship date.

Ultimately I decided that it was worth the risk, but what worried me the most was knowing that PayPal only provided 6 months of buyer protection. Basically as of December 2017 I had no recourse if the project went belly up. Maybe I’m naive and overly optimistic at this point, but I do actually think we’ll end up having our units in the next few months (having said that I also wouldn’t be totally shocked if the thing never ships and is total vaporware).

Maybe I am a little over sensitive because I was one of the development backers of Ossic. I was able to downgrade my development status so I lost „only“ around 270 EUR.
Anyhow, I can‘t believe that now with the Dolby Certification they are still not shipping.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

A question I have is how near final completion (as promised) will this thing be when finally shipped to the initial customers?

For one thing, since only Dolby Atmos is certified will it be the only setup that can be created on PRIRs, until DTS-X and Auro 3d are also certified? Does that mean that if you finneagle someone into letting you take a PRIR of that ultra expensive $1 million setup and do a PRIR, you'll have to do that all over again to get DTS-X and Auro 3d capability from the same setup because the A16 isn't ready for that yet?

And what about the Illusonic mixer? I thought it was one of the neatest features being offered on the A16, but I seem to recall it's either been dropped or it's roll out is to be delayed until a later point in time? Am I mistaken about that? And, if not, when can we except to see it, if ever?

Finally, what do we know about the Realiser Exchange? What will be the price to buy a BRIR? Will it vary by item? Will it be priced in tiers? Will BRIRs cost l.t. $100 or in some instances more than $500. The Smyths have been completely silent on this AFIK which seems strange if the A16 is about to ship.

What about providers for PRIRs? Same questions as above for BRIRs.

Let's face it, these are all fair questions to ask given what was promised in the kickstarter literature. It's outrageous that the Smyths have been silent not only on the production GANT chart, but regarding this other stuff as well.

 

[sander99]

For one thing, since only Dolby Atmos is certified will it be the only setup that can be created on PRIRs, until DTS-X and Auro 3d are also certified? Does that mean that if you finneagle someone into letting you take a PRIR of that ultra expensive $1 million setup and do a PRIR, you'll have to do that all over again to get DTS-X and Auro 3d capability from the same setup because the A16 isn't ready for that yet?

(All the following is assuming Smyth didn't AND totally not implement things the way they described it in various documents AND did something incredibly stupid and unlogical - and for no possible reason - instead. I therefore think it is highly likely things will be like I descibe below.)
No. Speakers can be measured in any position (relative to you) you want, and will be rendered as being in that position. The measuring and rendering of virtual speakers is a are completely seperate process processes from Atmos- DTS- or Auro 3D decoding. The Atmos decoder doesn't "know" were the virtual speakers (or the real speakers) are. The A16 user interface provides some form of automatic matching of virtual speakers to channels in certain situations, but this is purely based on how the virtual speakers are labeled/named, not on the actual positions.
I assume the provided sweep discs (for measuring a system without having to connect the A16 to it) contain several sweep tracks, for example specific atmos encoded tracks, dts encoded tracks and auro 3d encoded tracks. Now only the system that you want to measure has to be able to play the proper track, the A16 itself doesn't. You set the A16 in the proper mode, insert the binaural mics, sit in the proper position and just play the proper sweep track on the system to be measured. The A16 automatically syncs to the sweep responses (or maybe special extra sync signals) entering the mics and can do his job: recording the sweep responses. (If the discs don't contain the sweep tracks for each format then things get more complicated, but this is unrelated to the A16's decoding abilities. I will not mention all possible scenario's but I think there is a solution for each case. Worst case - but I don't think that will be necessary - some changing of connections in the system under measurement would be needed.)

Let's face it, these are all fair questions to ask given what was promised in the kickstarter literature. It's outrageous that the Smyths have been silent not only on the production GANT chart, but regarding this other stuff as well.

I agree that some more information from Smyth about all the things you mentioned would have been nice!
Anyway, I took the risc and accept Smyth's shortcomings because there is not much I can do about it anyway and I really, really want this thing.
Personally I don't worry about the realiser exchange website. I think it will be nice if it will be available with all promised possibilities, if not I will find ways to measure good PRIRs, or good enough PRIRs and improve them with direct bass and reducing reverberation.

 

[ajax1]

I had a PRIR done when the Smyth Realiser A16 was demonstrated at Canjam SOCAL 2018.

When mine was taken, it was done in a very noisy environment. During the procedure, I could not only hear the speakers but also background noises and conversations.

Has the quality of my PRIR been effected by this background noise?

An explanation of why background noise does/doesn't effect the quality of a PRIR would also be appreciated.

Thanks